A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 459 Mirror Lake Medical Clinic
"Lord Wei Zhuang!"

Wushuang Gui bowed respectfully to Wei Zhuang, who glanced at him, looked at the faint sword mark on his chest, and said calmly, "It's Gai Nie."

"Yes, the Wolf King was killed by Gai Nie, and his body was devoured by the pack of wolves."

Upon hearing this, Chi Lian's pupils contracted, and she looked at Wei Zhuang, who remained expressionless, staring at the clear carriage tracks ahead, and asked, "Where does this road lead?"

"The medical family's residence, Jinghu Medical Manor, is just a hundred miles ahead."

Bai Feng twirled a white feather in her hand and replied in a calm voice.

"Medicalists, Mohists, interesting, let's go."

With a flick of his sleeve, Wei Zhuang mounted his horse and galloped forward. Chi Lian and the others followed closely behind, raising clouds of dust and shaking the surrounding area.

At Jinghu Medical Clinic, Gai Nie looked at the three lines of text written on the wooden sign hanging outside the gate.

"The people of Qin will not come to the rescue!"

"We won't save the man surnamed Gai!"

"Those injured in sword fights due to violence will not be healed!"

Shao Yu, who was standing to the side, also looked at the wooden sign. After reading it, he looked at the silent Gai Nie with a strange expression and thought to himself, "Could this be a rule set specifically for Mr. Gai? What is the background of the owner of this medical manor, and what grudge does he have with Mr. Gai Nie?"

Just as the group stopped in front of the medical clinic, the pretty young woman who had led them there turned around and said to them, "This is Mirror Lake Medical Clinic. Please wait a moment."

As they were talking, the girl pushed open the bamboo door and went inside, closing it behind her to prevent others from peeping. Tianming watched the girl disappear and felt a little disappointed. After everyone had waited for a while, the pretty girl came out again and said to everyone, "Sister Rong invites everyone to come in."

Upon hearing this, Fan Zeng immediately expressed his gratitude and ordered the four injured men to be carried inside. Gai Nie also took Tianming's hand and walked inside.

As they entered the medical clinic, a fragrant aroma of herbs wafted towards them, refreshing their minds and seemingly sweeping away the fatigue of the past few days. Looking ahead, they saw three bamboo houses rising from the ground, the middle one being particularly tall, with two sachets and four wind chimes hanging on its left and right sides, jingling melodiously in the wind. A woman stood in front of the bamboo house.

Upon closer inspection, the woman appeared to be beautiful and refined, with a cold and aloof demeanor. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, her eyebrows were long and slender, and she wore a dark blue strapless dress. She held a pestle in her hand and was quietly watching Gai Nie and the others. After lingering on Gai Nie for a moment, she turned her gaze to the four injured members of the Xiang clan.

"This must be the Immortal Physician Duanmu. I am Fan Zeng. I apologize for my intrusion and disturbance."

Fan Zeng stepped forward and bowed to Duanmu Rong. Duanmu Rong replied, "So it's you, Mr. Fan. You are not worthy of the title 'Immortal Physician.' I am Duanmu Rong. These injured people seem to have been bitten by a ferocious beast."

Duanmu Rong frowned upon seeing the claw marks. Fan Zeng immediately explained, "They were injured by the wolf pack of the Azure Wolf King. Please, Immortal Physician, save them. I will be eternally grateful!"

As he spoke, Fan Zeng bowed to Duanmu Rong, who hurriedly helped him up and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Fan, such a great courtesy is too much for Duanmu Rong to bear. The wolf pack that the Canglang King feeds with special blood and flesh is extremely fierce and insidious. Let me examine their wounds before making a decision. Let's carry them to the bamboo building on the left first. Yue'er, go to my room and get the medicine box."

Duanmu Rong gave an order to the pretty girl beside her, who replied "Yes" and quickly ran towards the bamboo building in the middle. Meanwhile, Fan Zeng had the four injured people carefully placed on the beds.

Duanmu Rong glanced coldly at Gai Nie, then turned and walked towards the bamboo building on the left.

"Uncle, this woman looks fierce. We haven't offended her, have we?"

Upon hearing this, Gai Nie shook his head, then pulled Tianming along and headed towards the bamboo house.

"Fortunately, the injury wasn't deep, and the acupoints were sealed in time. Otherwise, if the poison had spread, even if you had come to this medical clinic, I would have been powerless to help."

At this point, Duanmu Rong casually asked, "The technique of sealing acupoints is quite skillful. I wonder which master did it?"

"Yes."

Just as Fan Zeng was struggling to answer, Gai Nie walked in and looked at Duanmu Rong, replying.

"Oh, who is this?"

"Miss Duanmu, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Gai Nie, a disciple of the Ghost Valley School and the Sword Saint. If it weren't for him..."

Before Fan Zeng could finish speaking, a flying needle shot out, its target being Gai Nie. Fan Zeng was immediately shocked. Shao Yu and the others were also greatly surprised by this sudden turn of events. Just then, Gai Nie raised his right arm, and the scabbard of the Yuanhong sword blocked in front of him. The flying needle was stuck in it with a hiss and continued to sway.

"You are Gai Nie!"

Duanmu Rong spoke coldly, startling everyone. Judging from her unfriendly tone, they all knew that this physician had a grudge against Gai Nie.

"I am Gai Nie."

“My Jinghu Medical Clinic does not welcome people with the surname Gai. Please leave.”

Duanmu Rong's casual remark surprised everyone again. Gai Nie remained silent for a long time after hearing this, and then turned to leave. At this moment, Gao Yue, carrying a medicine box and covered in sweat, ran in and temporarily blocked Gai Nie's actions.

He handed the medicine box to Duanmu Rong, who took it and looked at Gao Yue with affection. She took out an embroidered handkerchief to wipe the sweat from Gao Yue's face and said gently, "Why are you running so fast? Be careful not to fall."

"Sister Rong, I was afraid you wouldn't have enough time to save them, that's why I ran a little faster. Sister Rong, please save them quickly."

When Gao Yue's innocent voice rang out, Fan Zeng and the others felt a warm current in their hearts. Gai Nie also nodded. This little girl named Gao Yue was kind-hearted and clever. She would surely achieve great things in the future.

"You."

Duanmu Rong felt a warmth in her heart. She pointed her finger at the tip of Gai Nie's nose, then ignored Gai Nie's matter and went to the four injured people. She had someone remove the clothes from their wounds, took out a dagger from her medicine box, licked it over a candle flame until it was red-hot, and then placed the dagger in ice water. With a hiss, a wisp of white smoke rose up.

"Sister Rong is disinfecting and treating the injuries inflicted by those beasts. The wound needs to be cut open to let the poisonous blood flow out before applying medicine. Otherwise, applying medicine directly to the wound can easily cause inflammation, and if it spreads, the entire arm might be lost." Seeing the puzzled looks on Fan Zeng and the others' faces, Gao Yue explained softly. Fan Zeng and the others then suddenly understood. "So that's how it is! She truly deserves to be called a medical immortal; her methods for treating injuries are so methodical, unlike them who just hastily apply some herbs, leaving life and death entirely to fate."

Duanmu Rong cut open the wounds inflicted by the wolf's claws, sprinkled some white powder on them, and soon black fluid began to flow from the wounds. Everyone's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. Duanmu Rong, however, remained calm and used a cloth to absorb the poisonous fluid, then sprinkled more powder on it. The poisonous fluid flowed out again, and after repeating this process three times, the fluid flowing from the wounds was no longer black blood, but bright red. Everyone could tell at a glance that the poisonous fluid had been completely removed.

After cleaning the wound, Duanmu Rong sprinkled some yellow granular medicinal powder on it and then wrapped it with cloth.

Fan Zeng and the others stared intently at Duanmu Rong. Half an hour later, they finally finished treating the wounds of the four people. They straightened up and wiped their sweat. At this moment, Gao Yue handed them a clean towel. Duanmu Rong smiled, took it, and wiped her sweat.

"Their injuries are no longer serious. They only need to rest for two days. During this time, you can only feed them light food. Remember, you must not let them drink alcohol or eat meat, otherwise the wounds will reopen, and then it will be too late to save them."

"Thank you, Immortal Physician. We will remember this."

Seeing that his four disciples' complexions had improved, Fan Zeng felt relieved and, along with Shao Yu and Xiang Liang, bowed respectfully once more.

Seeing this, Duanmu Rong nodded, waved to Gao Yue, and the two walked out without even glancing at Gai Nie.

“Mr. Gai Nie, this Immortal Physician seems quite hostile towards you. Could there be some misunderstanding?”

Fan Zeng originally did not want to pry into other people's privacy, but since he had come to Mirror Lake Medical Manor, he still had to consider the host's mood. If he accidentally offended the host, it would be bad. Moreover, Sword Saint Gai Nie always acted with integrity and had never been heard to have made any move against medical practitioners.

“Mr. Fan, this is a long story. Let’s talk outside. Tianming, you and Shaoyu stay together and don’t wander around, understand?”

After pondering for a while, Gai Nie decided to explain the reason. He gave an order to Tianming, and Fan Zeng nodded to Shao Yu. The latter immediately put his arm around Tianming's shoulder and, disregarding Tianming's wishes, pulled him out.

"Does Mr. Fan know Jing Ke?"

"know."

"Jing Ke died because of me, and Miss Duanmu is the leader of the Mohist school. This is where the grudge comes from."

After Gai Nie explained briefly, Fan Zeng immediately understood. Seeing Gai Nie's dejected expression, he stroked his beard and sighed, saying nothing more.

Two days after Gai Nie and his group entered Mirror Lake Medical Manor, Wei Zhuang and his group finally arrived outside Mirror Lake. Looking at the lake surface shrouded in thick fog, Wei Zhuang frowned. Chi Lian, who was beside him, looked at the five-colored miasma that appeared and disappeared in the thick fog and said to Wei Zhuang, "If this thick fog doesn't dissipate, the miasma will spread. If we can't find the right waterway to get in, as many people as we go in, they will die."

"Hehe, Lord Chilian isn't the most skilled in poisons, this little bit of miasma shouldn't be a problem for you."

Hidden Bat chuckled a few times, its hoarse voice sending chills down one's spine. Upon hearing this, Red Serpent replied calmly, "Breaking the miasma is easy. Just fly over with my poison powder and sprinkle it in the lake water, and the miasma will be dispelled. But to blow away this thick fog that never dissipates, even if you exhaust all your true energy, it will be of no use."

Yin Fu's face darkened, and he was about to retort when Wei Zhuang glanced at him. The latter immediately fell silent and said in a deep voice, "The condensation of this mist is a result of favorable timing and location. Favorable location can be destroyed with the art of moving mountains and filling seas, but as for the timing..."

Wei Zhuang placed his hands on the hilt of his sword, looked up at the stars and the bright moon in the sky, and said slowly, "Tomorrow is the night of the full moon. There will surely be a north wind blowing, which will break the fog. The remaining task of finding the waterway is the specialty of the Gongshu family, so we don't need to worry about it."

As soon as Wei Zhuangyi finished speaking, Chi Lian's expression changed slightly. With a flick of her wrist, the chain sword flew out in a certain direction. The crimson light flashed and cut through the night sky. With a clang, an ugly bald old man and a bronze puppet that looked like a lizard emerged from the bushes. This man was none other than Gongshu Chou, the current head of the Gongshu family.

At Wei Zhuang's signal, Chi Lian retrieved her chain sword and glanced at the bronze monster beside Gongshu Chou. Although she had only used four-tenths of her strength, it was not something that could be blocked by ordinary things. This thing was strange.

"Lord Wei Zhuang is indeed very perceptive. He detected my slightest movement. He truly deserves to be a disciple of Guigu. Seeing is believing."

"No need for unnecessary words. This is about ruining the terrain. Once you've found the waterway, I'll leave it to you. I don't have time to waste here."

"That's easy. With Potu Sanlang here, this little Mirror Lake is a piece of cake. Lord Wei Zhuang, just wait and see a good show."

Gongshu Chou spoke confidently, but Wei Zhuang remained noncommittal. He glanced at Mirror Lake again and led his group away.

After Wei Zhuang and the others left, Gongshu Chou activated the mechanism on his left arm, shooting out a flaming arrow that hurtled towards Mirror Lake. Gongshu Chou's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he watched the flaming arrow fly three zhang before extinguishing. He immediately understood what was going on. Then he clapped his hands, and a group of Gongshu disciples emerged from the bushes, each holding a Po Tu San Lang (a type of weapon).

"Drain half the water from Mirror Lake, but remember, do not flood the farmland."

"Yes."

At Gongshu Chou's command, many of Gongshu disciples sprang into action. In a short while, the sound of flowing water reached Gongshu Chou's ears. Although Mirror Lake was quite large, the water level was dropping at a visible speed due to the powerful destruction caused by the mechanical beast. The thick fog had also thinned slightly. However, after the water level had dropped by about half, Gongshu Chou gave a signal for everyone to stop.

"Hehe, the defenses of Mirror Lake Medical Manor are nothing special. But I've heard that the Mechanized City is the essence of the Mo family's mechanisms. If we can break through there, we can avenge our previous humiliation!"

More than a hundred years ago, the Gongshu family's top genius was utterly defeated by Mozi's non-aggression mechanical arts, suffering a crushing defeat. Later, he became depressed and eventually fell ill and died with resentment. Since then, every generation that inherits the Gongshu family's domineering mechanical arts has taken it upon themselves to defeat the Mo family.

This time, Gongshu Chou's opponent is Old Man Ban, the leader of the Mo family's mechanical system. The two are locked in a fierce battle, with each having their own victories and defeats. This time, Gongshu Chou is ordered by the empire to break through the mechanical city, and he immediately comes to the city without hesitation.

Just as the water level of Mirror Lake dropped, Duanmu Rong inside the medical manor noticed it. Seeing that the speed of the rotating waterwheel had obviously slowed down, Duanmu Rong's expression changed. She glanced at the sleeping Yue'er, then quietly left the bamboo building and came to the front of Mirror Lake.

"The water level dropped so quickly that it could only have been done by a large number of people or large tools. In any case, it was just that Ying Zheng's men had caught up with them."

Just then, a series of multicolored venomous tongues suddenly leaped out of the lake and lunged at Duanmu Rong. Upon seeing this, she snorted coldly and flicked her wrist, sending out a burst of silver needles. None of the venomous snakes escaped; they were all struck at their vital points and fell to the ground, writhing for a moment before coming to rest.

"Most of these venomous snakes are red-banded snakes. Only the Red-banded Snakes of the Quicksand can control these snakes so easily. Even the Quicksand has chased after us. It seems that Ying Zheng intends to eliminate them completely."

Duanmu Rong threw a handful of powder into the water and turned to leave. Behind her, the poisonous snakes that hadn't yet emerged were all killed by the powder, rolling belly-up as they floated to the surface. From a distance, they looked colorful, sending chills down one's spine.

"What a wonderful healer!"

Chi Lian noticed that all the venomous snakes attacking from the water's surface had been killed. Instead of being disappointed, she exclaimed in admiration.

(End of this chapter)